Lampard: “Costa leaving will be a relief to Conte and Chelsea”

Tomorrow night Chelsea will face Atletico Madrid in their second match of Champions League group stage.

The Blues have just sold Diego Costa to their rivals, but the Spanish striker will not play with the Colchoneros until next January, so he won’t be a problem for Antonio Conte‘s side tomorrow.

Moreover, Chelsea legend Frank Lampard believes the London club was right when he sold Diego Costa: “Most of the talk before the Atletico game, though, has been about a player who won’t even be allowed to take part,Diego Costa,” Lampard wrote in his Evening Standard column – “He has agreed to rejoin Atletico Madrid from Chelsea but is not eligible to play for them until January. It is likely Costa will attend the game but it won’t be a distraction to the Chelsea players. I know he is well respected by the players and was a popular member of the dressing room. If he is unveiled on the pitch or is simply there to watch, I’m sure the lads will wish him well and get on with it. Costa leaving will be a relief to Conte and Chelsea – it is the best thing for all concerned. If it was just a case of selling a talented striker, then we’d be talking about what a great loss he is to the club. But he had to go. There was no way he could stay at Chelsea, given the events of the summer and the sooner he went, the better. It’s great for Costa, too. He needs to go and train properly before starting playing again in January. He couldn’t carry on staying in Brazil like he was, it wasn’t helping anybody.”